By Don Paterson
Whatever the difference is, it all began
the day we woke up face-to-face like lovers
and his four-day-old smile dawned on him again,
possessed him, till it would not fall or waver;
and I pitched back not my old hard-pressed grin
but his own smile, or one I’d rediscovered.
Dear son, I was mezzo del cammin
and the true path was as lost to me as ever
when you cut in front and lit it as you ran.
See how the true gift never leaves the giver:
returned and redelivered, it rolled on
until the smile poured through us like a river.
How fine, I thought, this waking amongst men!
I kissed your mouth and pledged myself forever.
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It rained pretty much all day Thursday and a lot of people pissed me off (sparkling misogyny in politics, passive aggressive and entitled behavior elsewhere) so by afternoon when Paul was done with his phone conferences, we decided to take advantage of Vudu's "watch a free movie, get a $2 credit" offer and put on both Journey to the Center of the Earth and The Mysterious Island, which had laughable special effects and pretty dorky plots but were definitely mood-lifters.
The rain continued through dinner until after dark, when we watched the first iteration of the National Theatre's Frankenstein, in which Benedict Cumberbatch plays the Monster and Jonny Lee Miller plays Frankenstein. The Monster's role looks utterly exhausting so I see why they switched off, and I look forward to seeing Miller play the Monster tomorrow! I got less scanning done than previous days, so here are a few photos from my hospital stay after younger son was born:
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